FARMINGTON — Every time the home team thought it was back in the game, things would go south in a hurry. That was the way things went all afternoon for the combined football team from Farmington and Nute High Schools against Mascoma Valley Regional of Canaan on Saturday. Twice the home team got back into the Division VI contest with timely scores, only to see the visitors make a big play to dash the Tigers' hope of an upset. The final result was a 33-18 win for Mascoma.“It was very frustrating,” said Farmington-Nute senior running back Joe Randall. “We were down one touchdown and I thought we could come back and get this game, and then we'd mess up and they'd get a touchdown.”It was the fifth straight loss for Farmington-Nute (1-5), which is still searching for its first win since the season's opening week. Mascoma improved to 4-2.“We just have to stop the turnovers,” said Farmington-Nute coach Art Jacobs, whose team coughed the ball up four times on Saturday. “All of our games have come down to us being in the position to win or tie it, and then making a mistake.”The Tigers' fortunes turned on three specific plays on Saturday. The first occurred just before halftime. With the Tigers trailing 12-6 and driving, Mascoma's Zach Warner picked off a Jase Gregoire pass and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown. Spencer Pierce (228 yards rushing) ran it in for the 2-point conversion and the Royals led 20-6 with 2:34 remaining. Farmington-Nute went three-and-out on its next possession and that's where it stood at halftime.Farmington-Nute scored on its opening drive of the second half. Austin Healy (85 yards rushing) scored from 5 yards out to cap a drive that featured a 25-yard run by Gregoire, a 16-yard dash by Joe Randall and an 18-yard scamper on fourth down by Healy. That cut the visitors' lead to 20-12.Any hopes the Tigers had of a comeback took a significant hit when Pierce took the ball 67 yards for a touchdown on the Royals' first offensive snap of the next series, expanding Mascoma's lead to 27-12 with 6:54 to go in the third frame.“It was kind of a back-and-forth game,” Mascoma coach Ray Kershaw said.“Farmington hit hard and we knew that going into the game. They play clean and they're a good team.”The final insult came on the Tigers' next drive, which they took all the way down to the Mascoma 10-yard line before fumbling it away. Farmington-Nute turned the ball over again on its next two drives.“We're a young team and we're practicing on it,” Jacobs said. “We're hoping to end the season on a good note in the last few weeks.”Jamen Gunnison finished with 128 yards on the ground for Farmington-Nute. He ran 49 yards for the Tigers' first touchdown of the day, cutting Mascoma's lead to 12-6 midway through the second quarter. He added a 10-yard TD run during garbage time in the fourth quarter. Robbie Shepardson blocked a Mascoma extra-point attempt in the final frame. Tyler Smith recovered a fumble for the Tigers in the second quarter on Mascoma's only turnover of the day. Farmington-Nute visits Bishop Brady on Friday night.